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Missing Florida teens found partying at Athens motel

Two juvenile girls previously reported as missing in Florida were found by Athens-Clarke police Wednesday night in an Athens motel.

The girls, ages 14 and 16, had been partying with older teens, also from Florida.

Officers went to Travelodge on West Broad Street on an Athens woman’s report that her son had been hanging out in a room there with “a few juveniles who might be missing from Florida,” according to a police incident report.

Even before officers could knock on the room’s door, it was opened by a male who said his name was “Chris,” police said. Officers saw a male and female on a bed, and another female on a couch, according to the report. They also observed a 4-foot-tall smoking device and empty bottles of alcohol.

When the officers asked “Chris” if they could come in, he immediately told him that they were probably looking for someone named “Jason,” the person who rented the room and had just left, according to the report.

The male who had been on the bed identified himself as James Dugwall, 20, from New York, but he had ID that had his real information that showed him to be 18-year-old James George Ventola from Riverview, Fla., police said.

Ventola has a history of recent arrests in Florida that include family violence battery and battery on a police officer charges in that state’s Hillsborough County in January. He was also arrested on drug charges in November.

When “Chris” saw officers arrest and place Ventola in handcuffs for giving false information, he gave his true identity of Cody Gene Stanton, 17, also of Riverview. Nevertheless, he also was charged with giving false information.

Officers separated everyone in the room to interview them individually when one of the females said she was 18 and from Atlanta, and the other identified herself as being 17 and from a community in southern Georgia, police said. They were also charged with giving false information.

Detectives continued questioning the girls at the police station, where they confirmed they were reported missing in Florida.

Officers also obtained a search warrant for the motel room and found evidence to charge all four teens with possession of marijuana and underage possession of alcohol.

Police notified the parents of the missing girls that they had been found, and transferred them to deputies to be taken to the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center.